Battling the ‘invisible nets’ studies journalism as a gendered practice in sub-Saharan Africa. This thesis analyses the gender logic in the field of journalism by examining how structures of gender, class and race interact to create barriers and opportunities for black women journalists and media managers. The empirical focus is on South Africa but also includes Zambia, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Uganda. The theoretical framework is inspired by French socio- logist Pierre Bourdieu and the appropriation of his theories by Toril Moi. Inspired by an ethnographic approach, five empirical studies examine the lived experiences of black women journalists. The thesis also examines how gender logic operates in the field of journalism in South Africa on a detailed level by analysing reporting and editorial discussions concerning a specific gender-sensitive topic during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The results of the thesis show the South African context is unique in the way it shapes opportunities and obstacles for women in the field of journalism, and how black women journalists act in order to navigate the ‘invisible nets’ and succeed in the field.

The aim of this study is to discuss the importance of gender in editorial leadership in African countries. Women in leading positions in the media industry work in a traditionally male-dominated area. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with five women on their work in media management in Zambia, Uganda, Nigeria and Ethiopia in order to explore how a group of female media managers in a non-western setting manage both their gendered identity and their identity as media professionals. This study challenges a western-based understanding of the role of gender in newsroom cultures. Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of capital is used as an analytical instrument. The study suggests that female gender is regarded as a positive capital, which contradicts other studies of women in media management. Another conclusion is that the ‘velvet ghetto’ is spreading, as women in journalism receive low salaries, if any.

This study examines how gender interplays with the news agenda during a very large scale event, in a country still undergoing political transition and where journalism plays a significant role in the nation-building process. The present study brings new knowledge to this area by examining the news agendas in South Africa on a specific gender-related issue: the rights of sex workers and trafficking victims, concerning men and children as well, but women in particular. This issue is often debated in connection with global sports events such as the World Cup. Drawing on interviews with media practitioners and on discourse analysis, the purpose of this study was to examine the news discourse on sex labour and trafficking and the connection with the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The findings suggest that the media discourse during the event was permeated with the rhetoric of nation-building. The combination of sport, media, and nationalism in a country in transition resulted in the ‘symbolic annihilation’ (Tuchman, 1978b) of a specific gender issue.

The aim of this study is to examine what effect an extensive affirmative action programme has had on a group of black women in the South African media, and how they perceive how existing power structures affect their everyday experiences within their respective media companies. The empirical base is an interview study with eight black women who hold or held top editorial positions in South Africa. Drawing on Bourdieu’s field theory, the results suggest that there is an escape from journalism as other forms of symbolic capital have not managed to outweigh the negative capital of being a black woman in South African journalism.